The author is a Forbes contributor. The opinions expressed are those of the writer.

Loading ...

Loading ...

This story appears in the {{article.article.magazine.pretty_date}} issue of {{article.article.magazine.pubName}}. Subscribe

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

Facebook's new timeline is confronting us all with our past, whether we like it or not. I've been editing my social footprint like a fiend, to save myself from a younger, career responsibility free me. Stalking other profiles has unveiled an armada of profiles littered with red plastic cups, and the shenanigans they imply.

I couldn't help but imagine the judging eyes of professional career gatekeepers. According to Kashmir Hill, who blogs nicely about what employers are looking for in your social networks:

“In an oft-cited survey [pdf] released by Microsoft Research in 2010, 70% of recruiters said they’d rejected applicants based on info they found online.”

On the wrong side of twenty and on a slow-yet-hopeful journey to my professional goals, college photos are the last things I want employers to see. Gen Y has got to take into consideration that their parallel online lives will eventually catch up with their professional one if they don’t take the necessary precautions of enabling privacy settings.

But is total privacy the answer?

Not even a little bit.

Before you rush to deactivate or completely censor your profiles, consider this: having little to no trace online in this digital age can work against you.

What?

Yes. In fact, it is actually unusual. To find no hint of personality in the black hole that is the World Wide Web can be unsettling for employers.

The Internet is like the prom, a superficial, popularity contest, where not having a twitter picture, or insanely high privacy settings does you as many favors as hiding in the bathroom, while your friends dance the night away. Hiding your identity on social media is not the answer for this generation – but neither is posting crazy drunken photos.

“If you’re a designer, entrepreneur, or creative – you probably haven’t been asked for your resume in a long time. Instead, people Google you – and quickly assess your talents based on your website, portfolio, and social media profiles. Do they resonate with what you’re sharing? Do they identify with your story? Are you even giving them a story to wrap their head around?”